The two men fighting to oust Antoine M. Thompson from his seat in the State Senate aren't fooling themselves.

They know they're underdogs.

As the widely known incumbent prepares to spend $500,000 for the primary and the general election, challenger Rory Allen has been cruising through the 60th State Senate District in a street-legal golf cart. With a campaign war chest that won't likely top $30,000, Allen said he needs to build name recognition any way he can.

Meanwhile, the man who occupied Thompson's seat for a nine-month stint a decade ago wants to return to Albany. Alfred T. Coppola said that even though Thompson enjoys the staffing, mailing perks and media exposure that incumbency offers, he is convinced that the two-term lawmaker is vulnerable. Thompson, said Coppola, is a poster child for the waste, inefficiency and political tone-deafness that many voters have come to associate with Albany.

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Related: Profiles of each of the candidates

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Both challengers are banking on what Allen, a Buffalo businessman, calls a "groundswell of anti-Antoine" sentiment.

Thompson has been embroiled in a series of controversies in the last year. They've ranged from a flap-producing trip to Jamaica in the middle of a Senate session to an embarrassing incident in February when he misinformed a reporter on how he had voted on a historic resolution ousting Sen. Hiram Monserrate of Queens. Thompson blamed the blunder on his being "tired and sick."

All three candidates agree that the economy is the overriding issue.

Allen, 34, is a West Side resident who founded Zoomcopy.com, a Main Street firm that provides copying, scanning and other document-related services to law firms and companies. His campaign is backed by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the region's largest business advocacy group.

The Buffalo native left the area for San Francisco after he graduated from college because he couldn't find a job. He returned seven years ago. State lawmakers must do everything possible to make the region more business-friendly, Allen said.

"We need a more sustainable plan for how to develop business in Western New York," he said. "There needs to be a different attitude."

Allen supports terms limits for state lawmakers, saying their Albany stints should be limited to eight years. He supports the creation of an independent, nonpartisan panel to oversee the redistricting of the State Legislature. He also favors reforms in the way Albany operates -- changes that would help de-emphasize the "three men in a room" leadership model that often shapes state policies.

Use of clout defended

Coppola, who served on the Buffalo Common Council for 17 years, agreed that creating jobs and retaining existing businesses must be a priority. He favors the repeal of a 2 percent utility surcharge that the state enacted last year -- an action that Coppola said Thompson supported.

The challenger said he intimately understands the problems and challenges facing small businesses. He operated a bar and restaurant on Main Street for 17 years, he said, but the business couldn't survive the lengthy construction of the Metro Rail line.

Coppola favors reducing the size of the State Senate and the Assembly. "We have to start shrinking our government," Coppola said.

Thompson maintained that his clout in Albany bodes well for his home turf. As deputy minority whip and chairman of the Environmental Conservation Committee, Thompson said, he is currently ranked No. 11 in terms of power in the 62-seat Senate.

He said his accomplishments range from passage of environmental laws such as an expanded bottle bill and regulations to govern pesticide use on playing fields, to efforts to promote green technology construction. Thompson said he also has been proactive in lobbying for local arts and cultural groups, public parks and numerous community projects.

Thompson insists his detractors have been working to play up controversies and distorting what he believes is a distinguished record. Whether it has been his involvement in environmentally friendly "green" industries, fighting for workers' rights or snaring money for community projects such as the repaving of Delaware Park's Ring Road, Thompson said, he is committed to improving life for about 300,000 constituents.

"I put my heart and soul into this job," Thompson said. "Whether people like me or dislike me, I think they understand that I work very hard for my district."

But his two challengers in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary contend that Thompson symbolizes many of the problems that have fueled one of the worst state fiscal crises in generations. Allen says Thompson's agenda is shaped by his fervor to promote himself and raise campaign funds.

"When Antoine Thompson wakes up in the morning, he spends an awful lot of his time focusing on being re-elected," Allen said, adding that he has heard from several people that the senator has used heavy-handed tactics to land campaign donations.

Advantage in spending

Coppola said Thompson's use of his office's perks has been "unconscionable." He cites the senator's expenditure of more than $480,000 to print and mail nearly 1.2 million pieces of bulk mail to constituents since January 2008. Coppola was responding to a Buffalo News investigation showing that Thompson's spending on direct mail is double the average of senators statewide and considerably higher than that of his colleagues in the local delegation.

Coppola noted that Thompson's staff has increased from two full-time employees several years ago to 13 today.

"State senators are legislators; they're not an employment office," Coppola said.

The expenditures might be "small potatoes" compared with the state's multibillion-dollar budget problems, Coppola acknowledged. But he said state lawmakers must lead by example. Coppola said he practiced this as a city lawmaker when he refused to accept a raise.

Thompson said he makes no apologies for using staff and other resources to "inform" and "engage" his constituents. He argued that his district is "geographically complex." It includes most of Buffalo, the City of Tonawanda, Grand Island and Niagara Falls. His mailings, "community breakfasts" and other public functions are all an attempt to reach out to people who often feel disconnected from state government, he said.

"It boils down to my opponents basically saying that Antoine communicates too much with his constituents," Thompson said.

While Coppola has been hammering away at Thompson, Allen contends that it's really just a politically motivated charade and that Coppola is being secretly backed by Thompson supporters to fragment the opposition. People who would not have voted for Thompson in any scenario now have two options, and Allen believes that Coppola has been propped up as a "spoiler." Allen cited Coppola's absence at candidate forums as evidence that he's not interested in winning. Allen also noted that Coppola has run for the seat in prior faceoffs and lost by wide margins.

Coppola role doubted  Coppola also works part time two days a week at the Buffalo Employment & Training Center, an agency that is largely controlled by Mayor Byron W. Brown, a Thompson ally. Coppola and Thompson denied that they're secret allies in the primary.

While much of the campaign's focus has zeroed in on Thompson's performance, many issues have also surfaced.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face attorney Mark J. Grisanti, whose name will appear on the Republican and Conservative lines in the November election.

bmeyer@buffnews.comnull